Just out of curiosity, how would anyone even know it had been opened? There is no seal on most nail polish bottles I've ever seen.

I think being able to slip one past people is probably.poor justification for doing it, though. My guess is that if you told them which one had been opened and which one had not most customers would want the unopened bottle. When I buy it, I am paying for an unused bottle.

I personally think it's rude, and akin to stealing unless you are actually buying the product. Mind you I also think spraying deodorants in the store is rude too. No-one really wants to buy an opened, used product, and the store shouldn't have to wear the cost of taking them out of stock.

When I worked in pharmacy we used to put clear tape around the neck of the nail polish bottles to seal them. The manufacturers/suppliers never sealed them, nor did they supply testers, that was a cost that had to be absorbed by our store.

If anyone wanted to try the polish colour we would take a bottle that had been previously opened (or if we didn't have one, then take it out of stock) and place a small strip of clear tape over the customers nail and paint the colour on the tape. That way the customer could see what the colour looked like, but we didn't have to worry about any nail infections.

Occasionally we were able to source the nail wheels that were a opaque plastic, then we could paint up the nails on those in all the different colours and there was no need for anyone to open a fresh bottle of polish.

Just out of curiosity, how would anyone even know it had been opened? There is no seal on most nail polish bottles I've ever seen.

A lot of nailpolishes do have a plastic band around the lid, so you do know if its been opened. Also, you can often tell when a product has been opened. I am more concerned with the Tylanol scare from some years ago. The product has been "tampered." How should the next person know if someone has put something in the nailpolish or simply sampled the color? If the store is aware the product has been opened, the store should toss it, and its basically theft, just like opening and sampling cookies before you buy.

Absolutely rude unless it's a designated sample bottle. I have opened a bottle before (they're not sealed) to see if the color was sheer or thick. You can tell by the polish sticking to the brush. I never touched the polish or the brush to my nail though.

I used to do this all the time, until a Walmart employee said somethng to me.

I used to just try a small bit on a fingernail to see if I liked the color, usually trying to decide between two to three different shades of one color, say pink for example.

The employee asked me to please not do that and explained that people could have a nail fungus that could be contagious, whether I did or not, the person before me who might have done the same thing, could have passed that fungus on to me.

Honestly, I just never had a clue about this. I have not tried nail polish in the store since.

(But, it makes you wonder. What if someone did have a fungus and did try it on before me? Yet, I still have now bought that nail polish.)So far, I have never had any problems. I now usually only buy OPI because I have found that it is actually worth the price, applies well and stays on well.

I wouldn't want to buy an opened, tested polish, and I don't think anyone else would, either. Since I wouldn't buy it, I wouldn't do it. Also, depending on how whomever sampled it, it gets all gunked up around the neck of the bottle.

Nail polish seems to be a weird product, though. No one would dream of opening a lipstick or foundation or a even hairbrush to test.

Nothing grows in nail polish, it's nitrocellulose dissolved in a solvent. The solvent is normally butyl acetate or ethyl acetate. For lay people, it's a refined version of car paint. Haven't you seen a nail salon? They don't use a new bottle per person, or have to sterilize nail polish brushes.

I don't think there is anything disgusting about it but opening bottles meant to be sold is effectively stealing and therefore wrong. If there is no tester you should not open one. You could ask a member of staff for help instead.

It is highly unlikely that you'll get an infection off of nail polish, as it's composed almost entirely of solvents- in fact it's a modified version of car paint! Even mold spores have a tough time surviving in something that is mostly ethyl acetate. You are eons more likely to catch an infection from poorly cleaned spa equipment than a shared bottle of polish.

However, people have come to associate nail polish and fungus because wearing polish, particularly over artificial nails, can trap moisture between the nail and the polish/artificial nail and lead to or exacerbate an infection. In fact, many NICUs and other healthcare facilities now ban or discourage artificial nails as they have been linked to patient illness, and in one study, deaths.

That doesn't mean it's nice to gunk up or use up bottles of polish for sale, however.

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My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world. ~ Jack Layton.

Nail polish is not so expensive that it must be tried on before risking its purchase. If there is not a sample bottle, you are stealing from either the store (if they end up not being able to sell it) or the person who ends up buying the bottle. There are certain things that stores allow us to sample before purchase. Unless they have offered a sample, you don't have the right to declare something a sample.

I will admit I have opened bottles briefly to check consistancy the way that another poster mentioned- as long as they aren't sealed in plastic. It tends to be the cheaper brands that are unsealed, and those are prone to being a bit thick and gunky- I see it as akin to popping up a shampoo cap to smell the scent.....not rude if it isn't sealed, but it's rude to pull the cardboard tab top off.

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My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world. ~ Jack Layton.